The House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations on Tuesday approved the proposed P1.161-billion supplemental budget intended to provide medical assistance to 900,000 children injected with Dengvaxia vaccines.
At a panel hearing, chaired by Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, the proposed funding contained in House Bill 7449 will assist Dengvaxia patients who need medical care.
“I do not care if it is clinically related to Dengvaxia, for as long as the child is injected with Dengvaxia vaccine even if the illness is not Dengvaxia-related, we will help them,” Nograles said.
The committee approved the bill after the Department of Health revised its earlier proposal where only a minuscule amount was allocated to the medical care aspect.
Nograles said the supplemental budget would be sourced from unused vials returned by French pharmaceutical company and Dengvaxia manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur to the government through its local distributor Zuellig Pharma.
Of the P1.161-billion budget, P945 million would be allotted to the medical assistance program, or the health assistance fund for Dengvaxia vaccinees, including admitted patients in hospitals and outpatients.
A total P148 million would be allocated for public health management: P78 million for “assessment and monitoring Dengvaxia vaccinees” and P70 million for “supplies and medicines,” while P67 million will be used as funds for “human resource for health deployment.”
DoH Undersecretary Rolando Domingo assured Nograles his request would be carried in the implementation of the program.
Nograles received confirmation from Domingo that the proposed supplemental Health Assistance Program for Dengvaxia Vaccinees had been certified urgent by President Rodrigo Duterte.
“This committee will send it to the floor…Could you send me the certification because I plan to have this approved on the floor by next week, for second and third reading. We still have to send it to the Senate,” Nograles told Domingo.
Nograles authored HB 7449 or the proposed Supplemental Budget for 2018 using Sanofi’s refund for the unused vials of the Dengvaxia.
The DoH said the Dengvaxia ID cards being earmarked in the supplemental budget would be sturdier than the Dengvaxia cards released by the agency last January.
In April 2016, the Philippines became the first country in the world to launch a mass anti-dengue inoculation program using Dengvaxia, a relatively new drug.
The program was suspended after Sanofi admitted in November 2017 that children who have never had dengue but were given Dengvaxia shots have an increased risk of a severe case and hospitalization up to the fifth year after immunization.